Wonderwall
by Raveld'Ivin
Summary: They've been through so much together that they've stopped counting.You could pretty much say that they've been through everything possible. But the death of a relative of theirs is another matter. OS, set after 7x18. NH,LP.


A/N : I watched the monday's episode and Bethany did a great job. An idea of sequel popped into my head and I wrote that down last night. Set after 7x18.

Since I'm french and not bilingual, I want to say thanks to LPfan4ever for re-reading the story and see my mistakes ;)

Enjoy!

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Haley James Scott has had a lot of tough moments in her life. Through them all, she has always had someone at her side. When she fell off her bike, her dad was there to tell her to try again. When she had her first hard break up; her sisters were there to comfort her. When she learned she was pregnant, her best friend was there to tell her that Nathan would come around. When she was hit by a car, her husband didn't leave her side. He has given her a son, a wonderful house, the prefect life.

They've been through so much together that they've stopped counting. Car crashes, fights, ex lovers or crazy nannies, Chris Keller and Rachel Gatina. You could pretty much say that they've been through everything possible. But the death of a relative of theirs is another matter.

The minute Haley's mother came in town; the youngest knew something wasn't normal. After the death of her father and Lydia's husband, the old woman had missed him every second of every day. She'd tried to hide it; but you can't hide something from a person that has seen you every day of their life for 16 years, can you?  
Haley has known her mother for 26 years; she knew from the day she came back that something wasn't right. The second she told her and her sisters about her cancer, Haley felt her heart stop. Her breathing came only as little gasps of wind. She had rushed to her side, taken her hand into hers and given it a squeeze.

That was a few weeks ago. Six days ago, Lydia James passed away, surrounded by her family. They didn't think it would happen so soon, but fate was probably a bitch. Haley had kissed her mother's hand one last time before leaving the hospital. The funeral was heart breaking; Haley needed nothing more than her two sisters. As the days flow by, the more Haley becomes distant towards Nathan and Jamie.

Nathan climbs upstairs to tuck Jamie in. When he walks down the hall to go into the bedroom, he finds her on the floor, her knees tucked beneath her, reading her mother's recipe. She wipes her tears away with the back of her hand when she hears him come into the room and he looks down at her with a painful look.

"Haley..." he whispers, kneeling on the floor next to her. He moves his hand to rest it on her back but she yanks away from his touch. He sighs and she looks down to the piece of paper she has in her trembling hands, avoiding his look.

"I'm OK," she says, her voice croaking. She doesn't want to cry in front of him, doesn't want to cry in front of her son, she's supposed to be strong and not be the Haley from high school. Nathan finds it stupid; he wants her to open up to him, to talk to him, to find comfort in his arms, because it's his job. He has to be there for her every time she needs him. She always opens up to him, but yet, this time it's different. It's a family thing, the kind of things she wants to share with her sisters. He wants to give her space but it tears his heart apart seeing her like that. Avoiding, his touch, telling him she's OK although he knows she's not OK.

At all.

"Hales," he tries. "You need to sleep, you're exhausted."

"No!" she shouts and lets out a deep breath. "I…I need to be alone." she says, softer this time but Nathan doesn't miss the cold look she sends him and her bloodshot eyes. She stands up and runs a hand through her chestnut hair before walking out of the room. Nathan doesn't think twice and pulls out his phone, dialing a number he hasn't dialed in a long time. He waits three tones before the soft sound of his best friend's voice comes on the other end.

"Hey Scott," Peyton says with a happy tone.

"Hey Sawyer," he says with a sigh.

"What's wrong Nathan? Is it Haley? Or Jamie?" Peyton says, her husband tensing up next to her at the sound of 'wrong' and 'Haley'.

"No...They're fine. Um...It's Haley's mom...She-she died a few days ago." he hears Peyton's gasp on the other end and hears her tell what he has just said to Lucas.

"Is Lucas with you?" he asks. "I-I think Haley needs a talk with him…I mean, she's pulling away from me and I don't know what to do or say. She doesn't let me comfort her or touch her. I don't know what to do anymore..." Peyton hears her best friend's voice crack and her heart breaks for him. There she is, in Seattle, with her husband and daughter. She's happy, she really is, and she's never felt better in years. Lucas makes her world turn everyday. And Sawyer is her little miracle. But she misses her friends every second of every day. Being thousands miles away from what she cares the most about, after her family is one of the hardest thing she had to do.

"Listen to me Nathan," Peyton says. "You have to be here for her even if she rejects you. I've lost two moms and pulling away from your friends is not the right thing to do. You're going to walk where she is right now and make her talk to you. She can't be alone right now. It's one of the hardest moments in her life and even if she doesn't admit it, she needs you more than anyone else."

"You're right. Can you tell Lucas to call her, she misses him and I think he can help her through this."

"Sure, I'll tell him. I need to go; Sawyer won't stop crying but if you need anything, call us." She tells him sincerely.

"Okay, thank you Peyt, I love you," he says with a smile.

"I love you too Nate, bye," Nathan hangs up when the line dies. Peyton turns to her husband after hanging up. "It's Haley, her mom just died."

The next second, Lucas is already dialing Haley's cell phone.

"Hello?" Haley says when the same number calls her for the fourth time.

"Hey little sis' " she hears her best friend on the other end and feels her heart sore.

"Hey," her voice is thick from the tiredness and she chocks a sob before covering her mouth with her hand to muffle another one.

"How are you holding up?" Lucas says.

"Who told you?" she asks, wiping the hot tears running down her cheeks.

"Nathan. He's really worried about you." Haley feels another flow of tears stinging her eyes and holds them back.

"She was my mom Luke!" she breaks down and curls up in a ball on the floor, bringing her knees to her chest and resting her chin on top of them.

"You need to breathe Hales," he says before pursing his lips. He just wants to jump on the next flight for Tree Hill and pull his friend into a hug. He hears her cough and breath heavily. That's it, just breath," her breathing becomes slow and regular. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I just want to hear my best friend's voice," she allows herself to smile when Nathan comes into the room. He sits behind her and kisses her temple. To his surprise, she doesn't push him away. He rubs her back soothingly and rests his hand on her waist.

"Hales are you still there?" he asks after a few seconds of silence.

"Yeah, Nathan is here too," she rests her back against his chest and buries her head in the crook of his neck. She puts on the speaker and they wait for Lucas to reply.

"Hey big bro' " Nathan says as he runs his hand through Haley's hair. He hears what sounds like Sawyer giggle and Lucas chuckled.

"Is our god daughter with you?" Haley asks with a smile. Sawyer must have gotten so big. They have sent a picture of her at her first birthday; she has Lucas' eyes and Peyton's curls.

"Yeah, way past her bedtime actually; Peyton's here too." he says and puts on the speaker phone.

"Hey Rock star!" Peyton exclaims as soon as Lucas has put he speaker on. "How's celebrity life treating ya?" she says with her southern accent that makes both Nathan and Haley chuckle.

"Really good; The tour was great, I didn't think I'd admit it but I like having fans," she lets out the first laugh since her mom's death and Nathan can't help smiling upon hearing the laugh he fell in love with.

"That's great Hales, I'm really happy for you. By the way, can I have an autograph?" Peyton says with a laugh and Haley does the same. Nathan smiles at the easiness Peyton has to make people happy.

"Sure any time," they hear Sawyer babble something and both grin at the cute sound. "How's my favorite niece doing?"

"She's like Peyton," Lucas says with a chuckle. "She puts her hand on her hip when she pouts. All Peyton,"

"Hey!" Peyton hits his arm. "That's not true. She broods just like him," she protests into the phone.

"You also brood Peyton," Nathan pipes in.

"Whose side are you Nate?" she asks and Nathan can imagine her narrowing her eyes and putting her hand on her hip. "Baby, listen! It's Uncle Nate and Aunt Haley," she says as she puts Sawyer on her lap. "Can you say it, Aunt Haley?"

"Mama!"

"Sorry, she's a little tired," Lucas says and ruffles his daughter's hair with his hand.

"She must be so cute in real...I mean she looks so cute in photo but..."

"It's OK Hales, we got it." they both let out a laugh and turn to Sawyer. "Can you say it baby? Haley."

"Dada!"

"Looks like she doesn't like my name," Haley says with a pout. "So when are you visiting us?"

"We don't know yet,"

"We miss you guys," she says with a glint in her eyes.

"We miss you too," Lucas says and notices a tear rolling on Peyton's cheek. He quickly wipes it away and she rests her head on his shoulder. "It's Sawyer's bed time, we're gonna go and tuck her in, it was great talking to you."

"Yeah you too," Nathan says.

"Say bye- bye Sawyer?" Peyton asks, Haley and Nathan waiting for her little voice.

"Bye guys, bye Sawyer!"

"Bye bye Haley!" they hear Sawyer babble and Haley's hand flies to her mouth.

"You know this is the first name she has said after mama and dada?" Lucas says with a smile.

"Oh my god!" Haley cries with a squeal. "I love you baby girl,"

After many 'bye-bye's' from Sawyer and Haley, both families hang up and Haley sighs, wiping her tears. Nathan furrows his brow and rubs her arm.

"What's wrong honey?" She shakes her head and lets out a chuckle.

"Nothing, its happy tears. It felt so good talking to them." she says with a grin. "She said my name!"

"Yeah, she's really smart." He stands up and extends his hand. She gladly takes it and stands up as well.

"Thank you," she whispers. He knows it's not for helping her stand but for something else.

"What for?" he asks, draping his arm over her shoulder as they walk to her room. They stand in their bedroom and Haley turns to Nathan.

"For calling him and for your support and everything. I know I close myself off and I'm sorry. It's just I miss her so much! I spent almost 3 years of my life without really seeing her, with school and the tour but now I can't imagine living without her!"

"I know, I know...It's going to be alright," he says and runs his thumb over her cheek bone.

"I'll be OK...It's just going to take a while." she says with a shrug of her shoulder.

"I'll wait for you," he whispers back and cups her face with his hands. "10 years ago, I vowed to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I'm here for you Hales, every second of every day."

"I know...I- I just...I love you," she whispers simply and shrugs her shoulders. She stands on her toes and presses her lips to his in a simple, chaste kiss.

"I love you too," he replies, pulling her in a hug. She buries her head in the crook of his neck and cries silently.

Haley wakes up a few hours later. She had a hell of a nightmare and her upper body is covered in sweat, she pulls back the covers and gets out of bed. She quietly climbs down the stairs and sits at the table. Picking up her mother's favorite book, she opens the hard cover. A paper falls from it and she picks it up from the floor. She reads it and feels tears welling up in her eyes.

_Don't be afraid of fate. Live your life as it comes and always remember that friends and family are there for you._

_Love,_

_Mom._

She pulls the paper close to her heart and cries silently.

"Momma?" Jamie asks at the edge of the stairs, in his way too over sized blue pajamas. He climbs down the steps and walks to her before wrapping his arms around her waist. "It's OK," he whispers. "I miss Grandma' too." she wipes off her wet cheeks and ruffles her son's sandy blonde hair.

"What are you doing up at this hour mister?" she asks with a smile. He grins sheepishly at her and shrugs his shoulder.

"I couldn't sleep, and I was hungry." he says just as his stomach grumbles. They both let out a laugh and Haley picks him up.

"I can fix that," she sets him on the counter and opens the fridge. "Ice cream or French toasts?"

"Both!" she rolls her eyes. Of course he wants both. She can't believe she's making French toasts for her son at 5am. They plop down on the sofa with their ice cream (vanilla for Jamie and chocolate chip cookie for Haley) and French toast. Haley puts on an old video of her first ride on a bike. Jamie laughs at her when she falls and she scolds him.  
Nathan comes down at the middle of the video and looks at them with a raised brow. Haley pats the spot beside her and he smiles before joining his family on the couch for a middle of the night snack. Nathan steals a spoon of ice cream from Haley's bowl once in a while and she slaps his arm playfully.

At the end of the film, they begin to tickle Jamie on the stomach and his adorable laugh rings through the entire house. They fall asleep on the couch, all hugging each other.  
Her mom was right, family is the most important thing in the world and the thing that can make you smile.

Every time. After all, they're her wonder wall.

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Let me know what you think!


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